Hey there guys, just a heads up for those of you who might care (and for the million others who don’t… just skip to the next story :) )
The Movie Blog is actually in an article up on ABC News right now. The story was basically about Die Hard being listed as the top all time action film by Entertainment Weekly… but the broader idea of the article was “What makes a great action film?”. The whole article is actually pretty damn good and I’d recommend reading it.
Here are a couple of the quips with us mentioned:
A Great Hero
“It may sound simple, yet many action films have very forgettable, cookie-cutter and unimaginative heroes,” said John Campea of themovieblog.com. “When we don’t care about or like the hero, all the action in the world can’t save the movie.”
The Value of Villainy
A great hero alone cannot make a great movie without his opposite, however.
“‘Die Hard’ had one of the best villains of all time in Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber,” said Campea. “Darth Vader, the liquid-metal Terminator, Agent Smith, the Predator. Almost every single good action film has a strong villain.”
Like the hero, the audience must also have a connection, albeit negatively, with the villain’s lack of humanity.
And … Action!
Intelligence aside for the moment, an action movie is not an action movie unless it has some big shiny objects in the form of car chases, gunfights and a few good old-fashioned explosions.
“Action doesn’t have to run from start to finish,” said Campea, “but when the action is there, make sure it has the audience on the edge of its seat. It doesn’t have to be extravagant either.”
There is a lot more in the article. It’s a really good one, so check it out if you get the chance.
…AND NOW YOU TOO WILL SELL, FOR – ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!—
I FORGOT ABOUT ‘NAPSTER’….
This reminds me of when IMDB started getting seen by everyone, and when MP3’s were only played on ‘Winamp’… – the “movie blog” is growing up too, and so soon, I guess its time to find the next backyard internet sight…funny how everytime I find a new sight it explodes with fame….
Good job, Campea. It shows that the hard work you guys have all put into this, is starting to pay off.
Keep it up boys, and to reiterate the Great Hero needs a Great Villian, all hail Megatron and Starscream.
Aww, John’s going worldwide!
Congrats John and everyone else :) It is a great article.
Bruce?…I mean Bruxy lol. Why not throw Bruce Campbell in there.
As a long-time reader, I offer my congratulations to Mr. Campea and Co. This is fantastic, and well deserved ^_^
How did I miss this?? I’m so.. happy for you John *sniff*
Please promise if you make it huge, do the Playgirl. Or something. World peace depends on Doug’s naked pictures.
“A photo spread of John, Doug, Darren, and Bruce in Vanity Fair.”
Bruce who? Campbell? ;p
Time, ABC News, what’s next? A photo spread of John, Doug, Darren, and Bruce in Vanity Fair. I was going to say Playgirl…but started to gag ;P
Great article by the way.
In fact, *Hitchcock* said it first.
“Better the villain, better the picture”
(also of note: Hitch in a Dick Cavett interview once said ‘in a number of years the star system’ doesn’t matter’, after Hitch’s passing…he was eventually proven right)
While it is great relief to find a kindred spirit out there (I and others have been saying that same thing for years) I do have…one…question.
Why did Gio love Crank again?
Or was that idiot movie a exception?
Hey Mediavision.
You said:
“So … where now … is the hero that we care about in The Transformers?
All hail and kneel before Optimus Prime. The greatest role model and hero in the history of mankind!
Congrats on the good press, John et al.
I wanna make sure that I quote this one: “When we don’t care about or like the hero, all the action in the world can’t save the movie.”
So … where now … is the hero that we care about in The Transformers?
I was in an article in my school paper once. Well, they didn’t mention me by name, but I think it was me!
you guys are blowing up